Bank of England says it has no plans to lower rates on commercial reserves
THE pound gained yesterday after the Bank of England said it had no immediate plans to cut the interest rate paid on commercial banks’ deposits.
Introducing an unprecedented level of transparency to its policymaking process, the Bank invited a host of leading City economists to attend a summit to discuss quantitative easing (QE).
The Bank officials said QE had been of significant benefit to the financial markets and the economy since it was introduced in March.
They added the market had misinterpreted comments made by governor Mervyn King about the benefits of a weak pound.
The Bank’s deputy governor Charlie Bean, chief economist Spencer Dale and head of markets Paul Fisher hosted around 40 economists at the meeting, attended by respected names such as Evolution’s Ian Harwood, Citigroup’s Michael Saunders and George Buckley from Deutsche Bank.
The pound closed up about a cent against the euro at €1.0957 on the comments and half a cent up against the dollar at $1.5937.